English soccer's first suspension since World War II has come to an end, with Birmingham club Aston Villa taking on Sheffield United on Wednesday.
Players from both teams as well as their coaching staff and match officials took a knee for about 10 seconds after the referee blew his whistle to signal the start of the game.
The first match of Project Restart finished 0-0 and was marked by an extraordinary technology error in the first half. Villa's goalkeeper appeared to carry the ball over his own line but no goal was awarded by Hawk-Eye.
Also, Manchester City beat Arsenal 3-0 as the Premier League's 100-day shutdown ended. The 55,000 seats that would usually be filled for the visit of Arsenal were instead empty.
The only supporters seen celebrating goals were streamed onto big screens.
There was a minute's silence before the game to remember coronavirus victims. And a display of solidarity remembered George Floyd, with both sets of players taking a knee around the centre circle.
with files from Canadian Press